State Politics
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Senate Republicans pass bill that could allow discrimination on religious grounds
Sen. Liz Bennett (D-Cedar Rapids)—Iowa’s only out LGBTQ senator—is fed up with seeing queer Iowans continue to be attacked by her Republican colleagues. “I am sick and tired of my community being the target of mean-spirited discriminatory bills written by Republican politicians,” she said during a Tuesday Iowa Senate debate over a bill she and…
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Iowa Dems blast Republicans’ latest attack on auditor’s office
Iowa Democrats are accusing Republicans in the Iowa Senate of trying to reduce transparency in government after they passed yet another bill on Monday to dilute the power of State Auditor Rob Sand’s office—the only statewide office held by Democrats. “Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans are making one of the best cases for why our…
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‘Big shoes to fill:’ Johnson hopes to replace Abdul-Samad in Iowa House
Rob Johnson knows no one will truly be able to fill the footsteps left by Ako Abdul-Samad, but he hopes to continue to the longtime Des Moines lawmaker’s legacy as the next representative of Iowa House District 34. “People always say, ‘Those are big shoes to fill with Ako,’ and I always tell people, ‘We’re…
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Rob Sand says GOP bill to let state agencies bypass auditor’s office could lead to corruption
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand doesn’t want Iowa to be like Illinois when it comes to anti-corruption work, and he doesn’t think anyone else should want that either. At a Thursday press conference, Sand went into detail about his opposition to a proposed bill—Senate File 2311, authored by Republican State Sen. Mike Bousselot of Ankeny—which…
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Iowa teachers could bring their own guns to work under GOP bill
Teachers or school staff members would be allowed to use a personal firearm and the identities of armed staffers would be concealed—per a suggestion from the NRA—under a new bill being considered in the Iowa House. These and other changes were clarified during a Wednesday morning Iowa Hosuse Public Safety Committee meeting over HSB 675,…
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Iowa Republicans’ answer to school shootings is more guns
Iowa House Republicans’ solution to prevent more students from being shot in Iowa schools in the wake of Perry is to bring more guns into the schools, which includes arming teachers and other staff members. “The scariest place to be in America, I believe, is in a place with ‘gun-free zone’ posted all over the…
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‘We will not go back’ protestors chant outside anti-LGBTQ bill hearing
About every two minutes, the crowd would roar, stomp their feet, raise their voices, ring bells, and chant at the top of their lungs: “Separate but equal, that’s really fucking evil.” “We will not go back.” “Trans rights are human rights.” “No LGB with the T.” Hundreds of Iowans gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on…
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Iowans call Reynolds’ latest anti-trans bill ‘dystopian’ and destructive
Alexandra Gray compared what is happening in Iowa to a dystopian novel during yet another hearing centered on creating new laws that specifically target trans people and pose harm to Iowans in the LGBTQ community. “What dystopian novel are we in this time because I’m finding us slipping and going backward,” she said. “At one…
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GOP bill to restrict support services at Iowa’s regent universities advances
A redundant bill attacking and restricting measures to increase diversity and support for marginalized people at Iowa’s regent universities passed a subcommittee in the Iowa House on Monday. HF 2327, changes several things about higher education in universities, but the most pressing issue at the subcommittee concerned changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI…
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Iowan asks Republican lawmakers to focus on real issues instead of picking on libraries
Wearing a green Raygun T-shirt that touted her support of public libraries, Anita Christensen of Indianola laid out a case for why Iowa’s Republican lawmakers should stay hands-off when it comes to libraries during a Monday Iowa Senate subcommittee on the topic. “I believe that public libraries build community,” Christensen said. “What public entities invite…
